“when Auburn won on that fluke tipped pass it was the luckiest play in the world. Today’s ending tops that.”
Last week was a fluke, this week was not.
Auburn had its kick returner on the field and I’ll even bet they may have drawn up an unlikely play. I’m sure it was discussed in the huddle about a return, and Alabama had maybe 4 guys on the field capable of making a tackle. That is the offensive linemen are not good tacklers, neither are the holder or kicker which leaves the 2 outside blockers at each end who can tackle people.
Auburn just makes sure those 4 guys get block and it is an easy touchdown.
Alabama was simply out-coached by Auburn on the last play.
Auburn had called a timeout prior to the kick. The Alabama coaches SHOULD have told the players to cover a possible run-back, given the length of the kick.
Auburn used the timeout to set up the return. Its players peeled off after the kick to set up a wall on the left-hand side. The kick was either gonna be good, or it was gonna miss. If it was good, game over. If it was a miss through the end zone - overtime. BUT, if caught on the fly, a return was possible. Then, either the player would be tackled, resulting in overtime - OR result in a return for a TD. Win-Win situation.
As it happened, the Alabama players were caught holding their Willies, watching the kick and not covering a possible return. The rest, as they say, is history ...